Three Oaks boys win fourth straight PEISAA senior rugby crown

SUMMERSIDE – There are two colours that are becoming synonymous with the Three Oaks Senior High School senior AAA boys’ rugby program.

“When it comes to Three Oaks, green always comes with gold,” said Axemen co-captain Alex Rose.

The Axemen posted a convincing 33-0 win over the Charlottetown Rural Raiders on Thursday night to win their fourth straight P.E.I. School Athletic Association provincial championship.

“The boys take a lot of pride in that,” said Axemen head coach James Voye. “I can’t say enough about them. I am kind of speechless right now.”

Before a big crowd at the Canada Games Field at Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside, Aidan Smith scored four trys to ignite the Axemen attack. Rose chipped in with a single try, and Jesse Cameron kicked four converts.

“The boys certainly saved their best game of rugby for the last game,” said Voye. “They really came out and sent a message.”

Axemen co-captain Ty Wright said it was a great way to end the season.

“We lost a close game to Rural earlier in the season, so we knew we had to come out strong,” offered Wright. “The boys gave it all they had, and in the end it was well worth it.”

The game was never in doubt as the Axemen scored three early trys to quickly take control of the game.

“We really talked to the team about being the most intense team at kickoff,” said Voye. “We really focused on being more aggressive than them in rucks, and that really set the tone.”

Voye said teamwork was the biggest factor in the Axemen’s dominating performance. He continued: “All 15 guys who were on the field at whatever time really worked well together. They really bought into what we were trying to do offensively and defensively.

“That’s what really allowed Aidan Smith to break out and he scored four trys. It was just a testament of how the boys played because it got him (Smith) to some open space where he could find some speed and Rural couldn’t tackle him.”